I have collected some usefull info and wrote some e-mails to other enthousiasts. I tried to mail them to you, but your spam filter blocked the e-mail.
Anywhay here they are.
The General Care and Maintenance of Ahaetulla prasina
Introduction: Ahaetulla prasina, also commonly known as the Green Vine snake, Oriental Whip snake, or Asian Vine snake. This in my opinion is one of the most beautiful and interesting animals out on the herp market today. They are rear-fanged and possess mild venom, however, this venom alone may not be lethal, but, you can be allergic, and allergic reactions can kill you. There are many people who have attempted to breed these wonderful creatures in captivity, unfortunately, none have been successful and all animals offered for sale are of wild origin. These little wonders range is South East Asia, and Indo-China, they may be plentiful in the wild now, but this will not last long and they may soon become endangered; this is the reason that we need to get successful breeding colonies established in captivity.
Caging: Although these animals are very long, they are also no more than about as big around as a pinky mouse at adult lengths. I house my 5.5-6ft. female in a 20 gal. tall All Glass aquarium and this seems suitable. These animals are NOT terrestrial, you need MANY climbing branches and perches in which they can feel secure and not vulnerable, the addition of fake vines, leaves and other foliage in the "trees" will help your vine feel safer. I have noticed that despite their reluctance to be on the ground many will venture down and sit there for a while and then climb back up into the branches, do not be alarmed if your animal does this, as I have witnessed it and have come to the conclusion that this is natural (maybe not but mine is healthy and she does this).
Heat and Humidity: Okay, this is a bit tricky, there are really no references on heat out there, some say a 98 degree basking spot is good others say that 89 is a good idea, I do not fall into either of these. I keep my vine at 92 degrees on the basking site, this seems to be a good thing when you place the lamp (you have to use incandescent lights on these guys) on one side of the cage and allow the other side to be significantly cooler (79-82). Humidity, now this is a HUGE concern because of how much is needed in order for them to shed properly and be in the best health possible. Vines are more likely to want higher humidity than many other animals, for this reason, a LARGE water bowl should be provided, and the cage should be misted 2-3 times daily to maintain a humidity level of approximately 90%-100%.
Feeding: This is an easy task to complete IF and only if you have a readily available supply of feeder lizards. This species has a highly specialized diet and will refuse (from my experience) food that was scented or food that is not a live lizard, this is not to say that you will NEVER get them onto rodents or frozen thawed lizards, but it will be a LONG and very difficult task. These snakes are especially fond of anoles, I feed my adult female one-two large anoles every 2 weeks, and like clock work, both are gone within an hour. These snakes hunt mainly by eyesight, the grooves in front of each eye and their strangely horizontal pupil gives them binocular vision so to speak. They can see movement at great distances (although in the cage this is hard to tell) and will go to investigate. Most vines will not eat if you are watching; however, there are some, like mine that will eat no matter what. They use their venom to catch, subdue and kill prey, which may have you thinking something like "but you said they weren’t that toxic", and indeed they aren’t, to us, but to smaller lizards they are a lethal weapon about to be unleashed. If you can observe your animals catching and eating without being noticed by them, it is a very fascinating sight.
Species Specifics: These animals are NOT tame animals and if you free handle them they will bite you, they are very docile on a hook and in their enclosure but should be treated as a "hot" snake would, use your tools when handling these guys. This species is slender, agile, and fast, so do not let them get off the hook and don’t take your eyes off them for a moment; they can and will bite, but are not overly aggressive. This species is not for the faint of heart, the inexperienced, nor for the person who merely wants to say "Hey! Guess what, I have a venomous snake!", they are a venomous species and should be treated as such, now if you have experience, the equipment, and want an interesting challenge, I say go buy one and see what you can do. Also this species likes to "puff up", they do this by flaring their throat and opening their mouth slightly, the scales seen once this behavior is in effect are black, white, and green, don’t be alarmed as this is just a warning display and very cool one at that.
Written By: Zachary M. Lujan.
E-mail 1:
General care of A. Prasina.
I to obtained wildcaight animals and as you may know. One large female died short after. If the animals are not ill to start with, they acclimatize quit easily. They are also quit easy to keep, except for the feeding needs that is. Until adult hood they will only eat lizards, and Lizards in the Netherlands are quit expensive and not always available. So make sure you have a large live lizard supply before even thinking of buying vine snakes.
Make sure that your animal is also drinking well. At first I gave my animals a good misting every day...even though they seem to hate it. The first couple of days they drank the drops of the plants and themselves. The second week, they had no problems drinking from a waterbowl.
Keep the enclosure very moist (at shedding) and at a temp of around 28-29 C day and night.
These animals do not need cycling to breed.
I keep mine fairly dry and increase misting when blueing cycle starts and during shedding. Further I use UV lighting. Its a day-active animal so in my opinion they need it to thrive!! Some of coarse will disagree... Photoperiod is 12 x 12 hours on/off.
A week after I placed the UV they mated and gave me three large healthy babies(live born). They are doing well, but I am forced to force feed them for I cannot get baby gekko's. Now they need only assist feeding. I place a pinky in the mouth and they swallow on their own now...so captive bred can be switched to mice.
The adult pair I keep in a well (live) planted enclosure of 70x70x120cm or 2x2x4ft : lxwxh. Live plants increase humidity and in my opinion look better.
They do fine in here. They use relatively little room and rarely cruise around. Only just before light out.
Be aware that the female is much larger than the male. The female I have now is aprrox 2 meters so 6 feet in length.
I feed the adult male two live gecko’s a week and the female three large gekko's, because she is twice as big. They also feed on frogs. Which is an option in the summer. Toads are poisonous so dont feed those. The adult female will also eat live springer mice. It however took me nearly 2 years to get the large female to eat them. The male will not grow large enough to be able to eat live mice, and will always be a live lizard feeder.
I think those are the most important facts to know.
Oja about parasites. The ones I had where infected with mites. They infected my whole collection so keep your animals in quarantine for at least three weeks.
Mine didn't have any other bugs, but you should keep a close eye on your male anyway. If you suspect something, have it checked out by a vet or fellow hobbyist with experience with parasites.
If you anymore specific Q's feel free to ask. I may be able to answer them.
Good luck and congrats with one of world's most beautifull snakes.
Peter Jan kwakernaak.
for pics check out:
http://gallery.python.bogusz.org/babyprasina
http://gallery.python.bogusz.org/Prasina-feeding
e-mail 2:
Answer to what to do with offspring.
I to have cb babies born in may, from my own wc adults. The most important thing is to give them high humidity and good temp...like you have wisely done. They will most certainly die if the shedding does not go perfectly!!! I have lost one by the animal sufficating in its own skin. Secondly if you have baby gecko's its oke to feed them that. But like nobody has an endless supply of baby geckos. So the only option is to force feed them. I have fed my babies pieces of pinky from the beginning, increasing the size as they grew. Eventually they will start and swallow the food item on their own. The strike instinct is only activated by live moving gecko's, so they will never never eat dead...not moving....prey.
I am at the stage that I feed whole pinky's, by poking the pinky against the nose of the baby prasina. They grab and eat it from there on. I am certain they will eventually grab and eat live hoppers....4 week old mice. I have also information from other breeders that they will eventually eat mice without assistance. So for now.....keep humidity high(max) and start force feeding them (pieces of)pinky. Will be tricky at first, but you and the babies get used to it. After a couple of feeds it's a breeze. I personally used a blunt end of a cocktail stick to delicately work the piece of pinky in, while keeping my index finger on top, and thumb on the bottom of the head.
Anyway...good luck and for more Q's, feel free to e-mail me.